Bachmann: First Family lifestyle 'one of excess'

Rep. Michele Bachmann attacked spending by the First Family on Saturday at CPAC, claiming they were living a lifestyle "of excess.”

“They deserve to live in the White House, they deserve to fly on a private plane,” Bachmann (R-Minn.) allowed, but said “this is a lifestyle that is one of excess. We found out there are five chefs on Air Force One. There are two projectionists who operate the White House movie theater. They regularly sleep at the White House in case the First Family wants a really, really late show. I don’t mean to be petty here, but can’t they just press the play button?”

Exact figures are difficult to fact check because decisions, including those for security, are often made for the president and have their own baseline cost beyond the president's control.

Bachmann has misrepresented White House spending before, including misstating that the White House spent $200 million a day on a trip to India. PolitiFact later ruled that claim false. The White House also said the claims have "no basis in reality".

“We’re also paying for someone to walk the president’s dog,” Bachmann said. “Why are we doing that when we can’t get a disabled veteran in for a White House tour?”

Tours of the White House have been canceled since sequestration hit March 1. The White House has said the cancellations were the choice of the Secret Service, which has to perform background checks on visitors.

The White House said it's not commenting on Bachmann's claim.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story misstated how much Bachmann claimed the White House spent on its residence.